Historical Treaties of Southeast Asia

A research program in global diplomatic history

Historical Treaties of Southeast Asia is a collaborative research program in Global Diplomatic History financed by the Swedish Research Council and running from 2022 until the end of 2027.

A team of seven researchers based in Europe and Southeast Asia investigate the role of treaties and treaty-making in the imperial expansion and colonisation of Southeast Asia from the eighteenth to the early and twentieth century.

The researchers systematically analyse all bilateral treaties concluded between a European, American or Japanese imperial power and a Southeast Asian polity between the eighteenth and early twentieth century. In addition, a selected number of diplomatic treaty-making processes are studied in detail. In doing so, the project aims to bring about a new and more nuanced understanding modern imperialism of relevance not only to Southeast Asia but globally.

Maarten Manse Presents new book Empire of Improvisation at KITLV, Leiden

Collectie Wereldmuse

Category

Events

Dates

2026-04-02 15:30 - 17:00

Photo: Collectie Wereldmuseum, Coll.nr. TM-10001540.

On 2 April, Maarten Manse will present his forthcoming book Empire of Improvisation: Taxation and Governance in Colonial Indonesia at KITLV in Leiden. The book examines how colonial authorities in Indonesia developed flexible and improvised systems of taxation and governance, revealing how everyday administrative practices shaped the functioning of empire.

Published by Brill in 2026 as part of the Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde series, the study offers a new perspective on colonial state formation and the production of fiscal knowledge in Southeast Asia.

More information about the book: https://brill.com/display/title/73302

This seminar is a hybrid event and will be held in the conference room of KITLV, Herta Mohr building, room 1.30, Witte Singel 27 A, Leiden and online via Zoom. Registration is done through KITLV’s website.

All Dates

2026-04-02 15:30 - 17:00

International Publication Award for Project members

Researchers affiliated with the Historical Treaties of Southeast Asia project have received an International Publication Award from the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of the Philippines for their article "Revisiting the Treaty between Spain and Sulu of 1836/37," published in Diplomatica: A Journal of Diplomacy and Society (vol. 6, 2024)

Entangled Archipelagos of Southeast Asia

Early modern Southeast Asia’s connections to European empires, including the often overlooked Swiss dimension, were the focus of a recent Zürich workshop that gathered scholars to discuss conflict, trade, migration and diplomacy across the archipelagos.

01

Sep

Project member Panel at EuroSEAS Conference, Madrid 2026

Project members convene Southeast Asia diplomacy panel at EuroSEAS Madrid, Sept 2026

01

Sep

CFP Deadline – Treaties and Tributes Conference 2027

CFP Deadline: Treaties & Tributes 2027 conference. Submit to 2027conference@sea-treaties.org

19

Feb

2027 Conference: Treaties and Tributes: Asian Agency and Performativity in Cross-Cultural Diplomacy, c. 1400–1975

Thammasat University, Bangkok

International conference on Asian diplomacy, treaty-making & cross-cultural relations. Bangkok, 2027

BooksIMG